What I’m working on…

I have joined a new group and am very excited that they are also on Facebook. It’s a very convenient way to keep tabs on the slower paced world of hand quilting. If you enjoy hand quilting or maybe are just curious you should check the group out. Looks like a place to get all your questions answered by some mighty fine experts!

Last week I picked up Malka Dubrawsky’s latest book Fresh*Quilting. I’ve followed her blog for years and am fascinated with all her hand dying techniques and fabrics. So this book was a no brainer. What I was totally not expecting, to find, was her Honeycomb Quilt. Yum, yum! A fabulous, oversized hexagon variation of a Grandmother’s Flower Garden. With the blocks no longer laid out in a flower pattern, I love how she still kept the connection to the garden. It was love at first site. I  headed straight to my nearest LQS, Interquilten,  and had the talented women there help me pick fabrics. Then I sped downstate to see what else I had to add to it.

I put in an Etsy order for some of Malka’s fabric, because I could not get it local. Actually, I had a tough time finding the yardages I wanted from any one seller! But Lily Rose Quilts had me covered!

I know I’ll be adding in cream or off white, maybe 5-10% of the overall blocks, to lighten it up. I may even add in some pale yellows and tans that I have of Kona. I’m wondering if Malka’s charms I show, in the photo below, are going to be too bold. My first thoughts were that this would be a very light, airy colored quilt, but my fabric choices don’t seem to be taking me that way! I know Malka used these in her quilt, so maybe I should just go for it?

Any thoughts?

Posted in Books, Celebrate Hand Quilting, fabric, Fabric Tuesday, Sewing, WIP | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Prince Charming

We’ve been sprucing up around here, flowers planted, weeds pulled, cleaning out the pond, getting ready for a house full of company. But I have been struggling with the little pond we put in, out front, several years ago. It’s a teeny, tiny pond, really, but it fits the spot and is fun to watch come back to life each spring. It doesn’t get much sun, other than the morning, so it’s a pretty big deal when the plants finally begin to flower. It’s got several little goldfish in it that we like to keep an eye on. I’ve seen a mink out there fishing, something else swoops down and picks out their dinner….

Every time I look out there, lately, there is a potted plant knocked over. Go out, set it back up, settle it in…. Look out or walk past, down again… These are pretty mature plants and when we sunk them we added rocks on top, which is what you do, like we do every year. We’ve never had a problem keeping them upright, no matter the visitors. Until now.

Apparently this fat little guy likes to jump on top of the plants and down they go….

No need to sneak up on him, he’s pretty arrogant. Just who does he think he is???

Theories pass. The frog remains. ~Jean Rostand

I guess I need to get out there and try something different…

Back at it…

Posted in Cottage, Landscape, Nature, Quotes | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Sunlight in the Gray Forest

…is finished!

Pearl set forth, at a great pace, and, as Hester smiled to perceive, did actually catch the sunshine, and stood laughing in the midst of it, all brightened by its splendor, and scintillating with the vivacity excited by rapid motion. The light lingered about the lonely child, as if glad of such a playmate… ~The Scarlet Letter: Chapter 16: A Forest Walk

I want to thank everyone who had opinions when I asked for help to Name That Quilt. I really liked Matchsticks, suggested by Debbie, but something about a baby quilt and fire didn’t sit well, with me…. I was actually thinking along the lines Melissa was when she said Symmetrical Forest? Grayed Trees? (not sure why I’m seeing trees here!) lol Thanks Melissa for forcing me down that path of thinking harder!

And the back. I cut the selvage off, to remember the name, and now it is nowhere to be found. But I did do some pretty extensive searching, before I put it in a safe place, and didn’t find it anywhere on-line. I *love* this fabric!

I searched for a long time before finding this one at my, new to me, local quilt store, Attic Window. I had been in this store 10 years ago, or more, and they mostly carried Civil War reproduction fabrics. I decided to run out there again, because I can NOT believe Grand Rapids does not have any more quilting stores than the few I know about! Winner, winner, chicken dinner! It was bought out, several years ago, and while they still have all the repro fabric they also have all the newest lines, too! Many things I had only seen online. I got to fondle and leave my finger prints all over so many pretties! I have to let my credit card cool off before I can go back!

I couldn’t have been happier with the hand drawn leaves of this print I found near the register! I think it goes perfectly with the tree feeling of the front.

Now for the details….

Crinkled in at 41″ x 38″.

The quilt face fabrics are Kona solids. Don’t quote me, but I am pretty sure they are Ash, Coal and Butter. I do not have my Kona card with me, to double-check, but I will confirm and correct when I get a chance!

The splashes of color and binding is Pinfeathers by Carina Gardner for Northcott. Looking at it up close you can see that it mimics the Butter Kona.

Quilted with Aurifil, in a light gray. I am not sure how to read their colors, yet! My first time using this thread. I have to say it was all I had read and more. It is beautiful to work with. I’ve already picked it up in a creamy off white for my next project!

1/4 – 3/4″ organic freehand quilting using my walking foot took an hour and 10 minutes. Much faster than hand quilting, I do have to admit. I made up what I call miles and miles of continuous bias binding using one square yard of fabric. Elizabeth and I use the same method. I then stitched it on by machine and hand stitched it on to the back. You can never convince me I need to machine stitch my bindings, LOL! It only took about 30 minutes.

Batting: Organic rayon and bamboo blend by Fairfield, another first. Not cheap, but I did get it at 50% off. Still not cheap. A lovely hand to this and how fitting a choice for this quilt.

Organic, organic, organic… quilting, batting…. How appropriate for a tree quilt!

It seemed a little stiff after quilting. Well of course, you say. There is a LOT of quilting on this baby! After washing, it relaxed and crinkled to 41″ x 38″. It lays perfectly flat and I couldn’t be happier with the experience of machine quilting it.

Thanks for everyone’s design help! It wouldn’t be the same without it!

Linking up with:

Show Off Friday

Go be inspired!

Stay cool and make it a great weekend, everyone!

Posted in 2012 completes, A Sttitch in Time, machine quilting, Quilting, Sew and Tell Friday, Sewing, Show it off Friday, Show it off Fridays, TGIFF | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

Anyone up for a Liberty charm swap?

I have to admit, I have never been involved in a fabric swap. Heck I have only been involved in one quilt a long, and not when it was happening live, LOL! So when I came across someone thinking about putting together a Round 3, Liberty of London Charm Swap, I decided to be brave, pull up my big girl panties and get connected with other quilters. I have adored these fabrics forever, but could never make up my mind on which one I wanted to make a piece of clothing out of, so I never bought any. Actually over the winter I discovered that Brooks Brothers clothing store actually had quite a few pieces made from Liberty fabrics. I might have even drug my better half into a store, or two, to fondle them. So to say I am excited, about this, is an understatement!

The deadline for getting your 5″ charms turned in is July 13, so if you hurry you still have time! You need 16 charms in at least 3-4 prints, the seasonal ones were recommended, but you can read all about it over at Flickr. Click on Round 3 Discussion for more information.

I purchased my fabric from Purl Soho. Lots to choose from there!

And now I see that Pink Chalk Fabrics has new Liberty bundles, too.

So what am I up to this week? Besides catching up on housework, yard work, laundry….

Well, have  you poked around here recently? I’ve been busy trying to make my blog a little more presentable. I never realized how much goes into a good-looking blog! Not saying mine is good-looking, but I’m trying to at least get all my links to work, backtracking on tagging, which I didn’t realize how important they were to find specific posts, until recently, and on and on and on… Learning lots of new computer skills by Googling!  If you run across anything else that needs fixed, please do me a favor and point it out!

Several things are beginning to click. Hooking up with the Let’s Get Acquainted Blog Hop has answered a lot of questions and has been immensely helpful!

As for quilting…

Got this puppy quilted. I quilted 1/4″ inside and outside all the sashings and then again 1/4″ outside of those. So 4 rows of stitching on the diagonals using my even feed foot. They fall almost 4″ apart giving this quilt the most beautiful drape of any quilt, I’ve made, in recent years. I am shocked. I am usually an over the top, hand quilter, but this is nice! LOL! And fast! I have to tally up my time and I’ll get back with you when it’s finished. Next up, making the continuous bias binding, put it and and hand stitch it down. Hopefully while watching season 5 of The Sopranos! I’ll be glad to finally get this one washed up and all cuddly feeling.

Jane Austin quilt

Posted in Liberty of London charm swap, machine quilting, Quilting, Sewing, Uncategorized, WIP | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

I accept.

Amy, over at Amy’s Creative Side, dared us to show our messes.

I accept and challenge anyone to have more mess going on that I.  It doesn’t always look like this. Really, it doesn’t. Mostly not. Sometimes, but not normally. Okay, I create a lot. I prefer Cindy‘s description as seeds of creativity. Beautiful ring to it, yes?

Before I show you what is going on, know that I am not there now. *And* it’s not all *my* mess. I have a few projects on pause while we spend the summer at the cottage. I happened to be back yesterday, and today, for a couple of doctor appointments, hair cuts and the like (shopping in the big city, LOL) and barely had time to step in there.

I came in to take some pics for Amy while I did a little auditioning, for binding, on my Diamonds are a Girls’ Best Friend quilt. The winner is none of these. I found a round table skirt that was used, for years, about 20 years ago, and am giving it a second chance, at life, in this quilt. It works beautifully. Just wait and see.

Jane Austin quilt

Yes, I got it all quilted this weekend, too. Four rows of freestyle machine stitching along the sashings. Two rows in and two on the outsides. All 1/4″ apart using my walking foot. And yes, that is a stack of Kona left over from the last five(?) quilts, not yet put away. Why bother? Seems there is always another Kona solids quilt up my sleeve!

But to get into my studio, I first had to walk around this unnamed Kona wallhanging.

It’s no where near finished, but needed to find a paint color that would pop with it. Behr’s Chai Latte was the winner. It’s pretty much exactly the color of the darker rusty color, the top row of the lower right block~ish piece…..

Then had to work my way around this.

Artist daughter has been inspired lately and is glad I am not in her way, I am sure. Can’t wait to see the finished product. I am glad to see her out from behind her computer screen job, in her free time, and excited about creating art, in a favorite medium, again. That’s her floral piece, in the background. A Mother’s Day gift 2007. I’m sure their are better pictures around if you need to see it.

And taking up the width of the space between my cutting table and chair is an Amy Butler Kaleidascope quilt which I have been working on, every time, I am back in town. Not sure what I will do with it but I’m pretty sure it’s big enough to say I’m ready to piece it together! Yeah, we’ve been walking all over it, in the mean time… And if a quilt can be walked on now, it can be drug out into the yard for suntanning, or to picnic on or play under, as a tent, or whatever the owner wants to do with it, I say. The test of a well loved quilt, I say.

Amy Butler fabric

You can see I neglected to picture my overflowing trash basket, or selvedge bin, that has that has spilled to the floor, or my, desperately needing to be recovered, ironing board piled high with another prospective project…..

It’s bad.

I know.

I’m glad I’m back at the cottage where I can breathe a little easier, make quilt bindings and get some fresh finishes under my belt without feeling the need to clean, first. LOL!

Thanks, Amy, for giving me the courage to admit, I am a messy creative type and proud of it!!

Posted in Crafting, fabric, organizing, Quilting, Sewing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Roasted radishes are turnips in disquise.

Seriously.

I’ve never been a huge fan of radishes, I can take them or leave them. I like spicy but not necessarily radish spicy. You know? I was told they aren’t spicy if grown early enough… So this year I decided to give them a go. I know Amanda loves them and she’d help eat them. Well, guess what? Amanda isn’t here and we were gone for a week and the radishes are beyond ready!
Roasted radishes recipeThese are actually the smaller ones I plan on eating.

They grew big and spicy while we were gone. I had read that when cooked they get really sweet. And since we have more than we can eat at once….  I decided to try roasting some.

Roasted Radishes
serves two or three as written (half a recipe, pictured)

Scrub clean, one bunch, or about 20 radishes.

Cut off and reserve the greens, leaving about 1/2″ of them intact. Trim off the root end.

Slice down the center.

In a bowl, toss them in 1-2 TBS of olive oil and salt and pepper generously.

Spread face down in an over safe dish.


Roast at 475° for about 20 minutes or until caramelized.

In the meantime, clean the radish greens well, as you would lettuce greens. Use the larger ones to cook as you would kale, collards, or turnip greens. You can add the smaller. raw greens to a green salad for a little spiciness, similar to arugula.

Slice a few of the smaller greens up and toss the into the hot radishes, stirring gently. Add a bit of lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon juice over the top.

roasted radishes are beets in disguise

Eat.

And enjoy. But I won’t have to tell you that.

These are SO good! Especially if you like turnips.

No matter how you like your radishes, do you realize how powerful a punch these little beauties pack? Go ahead

Cancer: Being a very good detoxifier and rich in vitamin-C, folic and anthocyanins, radish helps prevent many types of cancer, particularly those of colon, kidney, intestines, stomach and oral cancer.

Weight Loss: Radishes are very filling, satisfies your hunger without giving you many calories, as they are low in digestible carbohydrates, high in fiber and contain a lot of water.

Jaundice: Radish is very good for the liver and the stomach and it is a very good detoxifier too, that is, it purifies blood. It is miraculously useful in jaundice as it helps removing bilirubin and also checks its production.

Kidney Disorders: Being diurectic, cleanser and disinfectant, they help cure many kidney disorders. Its diurectic properties help wash away the toxins accumulated in the kidneys.

Respiratory Disorders, Bronchitis and Asthma: Radish is an anti congestive, i.e. it relieves congestion of respiratory system including nose, throat, wind-pipe and lungs, due to cold, infection, allergies and other causes. It is a good disinfectant and also rich in vitamins, which protects the respiratory system from infections.

Skin Disorders: Vitamin-C, phosphorus, zinc and some members of vitamin-B complex, which are present in radish, are good for skin. The water in it helps maintaining moisture of the skin. Smashed raw radish is a very good cleanser and serves as a very efficient face mask. Due to its disinfectant properties, radishes also helps cure skin disorders, such as drying up, rashes, cracks etc. and also refreshes it.

Fever: It brings down the body temperature and relieves inflammation due to fever. Drink radish juice mixed with black salt. Being a good disinfectant, it also fights infections which cause fever, thereby helping cure it.

Insect Bites: It has anti pruritic properties and can be used as an effective treatment for insect bites, stings of bees, hornets, wasps etc. Its juice also reduces pain and swelling and soothes the affected area.

Go ahead, eat more radishes!

Posted in Cooking, Gardening, Gluten Free, Health, Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A bag for bags

I’ve been intrigued by this tutorial, over at In Color Order, that Jeni put together, for quite some time. Maybe it is her fabric choices, I don’t know, but it’s been bookmarked,  waiting for me to *need* a new bag!

in color order lined drawstring bag tutorial

I adore this Joel Dewberry, Majestic Oak, in Sunglow, fabric and had some left, from this computer sleeve I made at Christmas, and found myself ready to cut into it again.

Joel Dewberry Majestic Oak, Herringbone in Timber

I make a lot of these type bags because I like the organization of putting things into containers. Getting ready for a busy summer, with several trips, I decided I need a bag for my jewelry. Not my jewels, LOL, but my costume jewelry. I have to say I love all jewelry and I am especially loving all the big, chunky necklaces that are so popular now. They can be hard to pack, safely. I keep them each in their own smaller drawstring bag and decided to give this bag a go, to contain everything in one place.

So thinking I could whip this bag out in 15 minutes, just before I wanted to use it, I did.

Okay, maybe it took a little more than 15 minutes, but not much more. Jeni has clearly illustrated her tutorial. No fancy supplies needed, not even interfacing. Gotta love being able to whip something up with what you have on hand. Lots of pictures including her ironing board cover than makes me drool. (I see another quicky project in my future!)

What took me longest to figure out was in which directions the measurements went for my directional fabric. It helped to look at the drawing of the fat quarters. Duh. Maybe because I was using yardage, not fat quarters, that I was slowed up? Doesn’t matter, the bag turned out wonderful. I even had ribbon, to match, and didn’t have to fuss with making a drawstring! Bonus!

If you’re in need of an easy bag pattern check it out. This size finishes out at 10″ high by 7″ wide, perfect size for what I needed. Best of all, it’s free! Other sizes available with her pattern purchase. I can see so many possibilities with this bag. The next one will have pockets, containers within containers! Gotta love it!

Linking up with ~

Show Off Friday

Go be inspired!

Make it a great weekend, everyone!

Posted in fabric, Linkys, Sew and Tell Friday, Sewing, Show it off Fridays, TGIFF, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Coconut Oil Giveaway!

Yes, two posts in one day, it is unheard of.

And my first attempt at using “Press This”. A new, to me, blog opportunity.

Let’s see if this works!

You know I am a huge proponent of the health benefits of Coconut Oil. Any random Google will fill you in on all the details. As will Render the Fat.

The health benefits of coconut oil include hair care, skin care, stress relief, maintaining cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased immunity, proper digestion and metabolism, relief from kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength. These benefits of coconut oil can be attributed to the presence of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, and its properties such as antimicrobial, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, soothing, etc.
taken directly from here .


Yeah, it will cure what ails you!

And here’s your chance to win a free jar.

via Coconut Oil Giveaway!

Posted in Giveaway, Health, Wellness | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Wilted Spinach Salad

Twice, this week, from our deck.

Delicious.

Wilted Spinach Salad
serves 2

4 ounces baby spinach
1 large eggs
4 pieces thick-sliced bacon, chopped
1 1/2 TBS red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 slice of a mild sweet onion, if it has much bite to it, I’d skip it]

Wash and spin, or pat, dry the spinach. Place into a large salad bowl along with the sliced onion and set aside.
Hard boil your egg by placing it into a pan and cover with cold water, by at least 1-inch. Turn the heat on. Once the water comes to a boil, cover and turn the heat off. Leave the egg in the water for 12 minutes. Drain, rinse and peel off the shell, under cold running water. Slice or chop your egg.
While the egg is cooking, fry the bacon and remove to a paper towel to drain, reserving the rendered fat, hopefully you have about 1 1/2 TBS, more would be better. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
In the same skillet you fried the bacon in, whisk in the red wine vinegar, sugar and Dijon mustard. Season with a small pinch each of kosher salt and black pepper. Add the dressing and half the bacon pieces and toss to combine. Divide the spinach between 2 plates and evenly divide the egg and bacon on top. Season with pepper. Serve immediately.

This isn’t our *usual* family Spinach Salad recipe. It is definitely lighter pairing better with the fragility of home grown spinach. This recipe is more like the wilted greens Grandma used to make. But, of course, her bacon had much more fat than mine has.

Deliciousness.

Posted in Cooking, Dairy free, Eating, Gardening, Gluten Free, Recipes, Salad, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

and then there was light!

Ta Da!

After 12 summers here, at the cottage, it’s nice to finally have some extra light in my sewing space.

I finally got all the light switches in the right position and the stars must have aligned . Maybe it has to doing with this being the Summer Solstice?? It didn’t hurt that I found some paperwork, while cleaning out a filing drawer, that showed “this” ceiling fan and a remote control. Yup, found that, too. New batteries, switches that I had no idea what they ran, now I know.

I have light and a much needed fan in this vaulted office space on this muggy, gray day.

Back to my WIP…

Remember this?

On a hot day, driving, up to the cottage, it turned into this.

Quite the manly seat cooler, don’t you think. Apparently my husband doesn’t care what it looks like as long as there is something between him and the leather seat. Notice it is pin basted ready to be quilted.

So back to last week’s name that quilt.

After you all helped me with the final design I headed out to pick up the lime and some more Kona Ash gray. Remember I was working with what I had… And of course, the bolt had been replenished and the dye lot was different. So that became this.

Much more appropriate, don’t you think? It also gives me an idea for one more placemat, LOL!

I decided to give Elizabeth’s, over at Oh, Fransson,  orange peel Free Motion Quilting a try, since you all have said, small project, just do it.

This quilting pattern was a given, for this project, since these are 2″ finished strips. I’ve admired it since I first saw her put it into action. She makes it look so simple. So I drew it out, put my darning foot on, as she advises, and went to town. Once up and down again and I took it off to see what it looked like. Ouch. The way it looked didn’t help this ego of mine. I then drew it out using my circle template, which is all it really is, when you dissect it. Very clever that Elizabeth is! I then switched to my even feed walking foot and liked the control I had much better. Is this a natural feeling? Does everyone feel this way, in the beginning?

After it was bound and washed I think the darning foot strip blends in, and looks better, than the work removing it would take!

I now have the still undecided on a name, gray quilt, rebuilt and ready to go, again. Not sure if I should attempt this FMQ pattern again, in a larger project, or not. It is a lot of work! At this point, hand quilting feels faster. Anyone else done this orange peel design? Any advice for this Newbie FMQ? Any other FMQ designs that you *see* for this quilt?

 

Happy Summer Solstice, everyone! Enjoy the Light!

Posted in Cottage, fabric, Sewing, WIP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments